Coachella Lineup Released

And it includes Superchunk. Awesome.

The entire lineup is actually pretty solid, with Day 3 being the best by far - My Bloody Valentine, Okkervil River, The Cure, X, The Night Marchers, Vivian Girls, Public Enemy, No Age, Fucked Up and more.

Day 2 isn't too shabby either, with the aforementioned Superchunk, Bob Mould, Calexico, Drive By Truckers, Fleet Foxes, Mastodon and Glasvegas.

Day 1 is the weakest day for my personal tastes (many will disagree), with Paul McCartney, Morrissey, Silversun Pickups, Conor Oberst, Beirut, The Hold Steady and A Place to Bury Strangers.

Any way you look at it, though, this is the first year I'm really tempted to head west to Indio.

Full lineup here.

Glen and Marketa Break Up

So sad.

Can we get a new Frames album now, please?

Great NYC Show Tonight!

I was just looking at the calendar of shows going on in New York next week, when I will likely be there for an interview or two, and noticed a fantastic show going on at Union Hall in Brooklyn tonight.

The show features Shannon McArdle (formerly of The Mendoza Line) and Chris Mills (who put out one of my favorite albums of 2008), together with Red Orange Morning (who I don't know).

Tickets are only $7, and there's really no valid excuse for not going if you're in town.

Oh, and yeah, I just went ahead and bought myself a ticket to the Rural Alberta Advantage / These United States show at Union Hall next Friday on the assumption that I'll be there. Can't wait to finally see RAA.

Tereu Tereu and Sean Walsh @ Black Cat, DC [1/28/09]

Sean Walsh and the National Reserve, "You Know"
Tereu Tereu, "Beyond The Coast"

Fantastic rock show last night.

I knew going in that Tereu Tereu would put on a good show. The last time I'd seen them (way too long ago, unfortunately), I'd been impressed with how fun their set was. And, in the interim, they'd released their excellent new album, All That Keeps Us Together. So my expectations were high, and they were met in full. The new songs sounded fantastic live, and despite being a tad under the weather, the band played with a ton of energy. If you're looking for the next hot, up-and-coming DC-area band, check these guys out ASAP.

While I expected a good set from TT, I wasn't sure what to expect from Sean Walsh and the National Reserve. I'd heard the name before, but the only songs I had heard were from their FREE 4-song sampler of songs from their forthcoming album, Homesick. I like the songs quite a bit, but feared that their live show might be a little on the boring side.

I was wrong. Very, very, very, very, very wrong. About once or twice a year, at best, I see a band and am blown off and completely taken off-guard as to how good they are. That's exactly what happened last night with SW&TNS. And I can't wait to see them again. Soon, please?

Edited to add: I actually forgot to mention the actual headliner of the show, Pree. Well, I actually only caught the first two songs from the band before I had to leave to catch the Metro. They seemed decent, though I'll need to hear more from the band before saying much more about them. Why can't DC clubs at least try to schedule things so that people can take the Metro? Or, heaven forbid, why can't Metro run until at least 12:30am or 1am on weeknights?

Tereu Tereu



Sean Walsh and the National Reserve

DC Show Update

I am just tickled frickin' pink about The Antlers coming to the Black Cat.

My picks in bold. Updates throughout the week, if any, in italics.

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Sun., 3/1: Sean McArdle (backstage)

Sun., 3/8: The Shirks, The Ladies (backstage)

Mon., 3/9: Vandaveer (backstage)

Wed., 3/11: The Antlers (backstage)

Fri., 3/20: DJ Rekha (mainstage)

Thu., 3/26: Say Hi, Telekinesis (backstage)

Tue., 4/14: Great Lake Swimmers, Kate Maki (backstage)

Black Cat tickets go on sale on Friday (1/30) at 5pm Eastern via Ticketmaster.

---

Sat., 2/7: The Wino Band
Fri., 2/13: emmet swimming, Trustfall
Mon., 2/23: Mos Def
Thu., 4/16: Ratatat
Thu., 4/23: Travis (on sale 2/5)
Sat.. 5/2: Peter, Bjorn and John, Chairlift (on sale 1/30)

Sun., 5/17: Dan Deacon, Future Isands, Teeth Mountain

Unless otherwise noted, all 9:30 Club tickets go on sale Thursday (1/29) at 10am Eastern time via Tickets.com

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Wed., 2/11: Hoots and Hellmouth, The Jones, The Petticoat Team Room
Thu., 3/5: Pete and J
Sun., 3/8: The Tossers
Sat., 3/28: Asobi Seksu
Sat., 4/11: DJ Craze & Klever

Tickets for Rock and Roll Hotel shows are sold via Ticket Alternative.

---

TBD.

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TBD.

Unless otherwise noted, tickets for all Velvet Lounge shows are sold at the door only.

---

Thu., 3/19: Richard Buckner (during SXSW)
Sat., 3/21: Brother Shamus

Unless otherwise noted, tickets for all Iota shows are sold at the door only.

---

TBD.

Tickets for State Theatre shows are sold here.

Reminder: Rock Show Tonight!

Just a quick reminder about a great show going on here in DC tonight at the Black Cat's backstage -- Sean Walsh and the National Reserve, Pree and, of course, Tereu Tereu.

As I mentioned, Tereu Tereu is touring support of their brand new album, All That Keeps Us Together, which you can purchase for yourself if you catch the band on tour. Doors are at 9pm (show at 9:30pm, I'd assume), and tickets are only $8.

If you need any more convincing, take another listen to my favorite song from TT's new album:

Tereu Tereu, "Beyond The Coast"

See you there!

The Least Indie Thing I've Seen All Week

Alright, so one of the bigger DC-area acts these days is a band called Middle Distance Runner. I can't say I know their music all that well, but they seem to have a pretty big following, and several blogs that I know and respect have a pretty high opinion of them.

I noticed earlier today that they're scheduled to play Iota, right down the road from me, in late March, so I figured I'd go to their website and see exactly what they sounded like.

My verdict? They're fine. But that's not the reason I'm posting. If you go to their website, and click on the "Placements" button at the top of the page, it takes you to a listing of all of the advertisements that their music has been used in.

Seriously?

Listen, I know that this is how bands make money these days, and I don't have a problem with the New Pornographers or Of Montreals of the world selling their songs for ads. But do you really have to devote an entire page on your website to list each time you've done it?

That so is not punk rock.

Disciplines Album Finally Getting U.S. Release

Awesome news over on Billboard today:

Smoking Kills, the debut album from The Disciplines, is finally coming out in the U.S. via Second Motion Records on April 28th. The album came out in Scandanavia last year, and you can hear several songs over at the band's MySpace page.

Who are the Disciplines, you ask? The Disciplines are a former Norwegian band known as Briskeby fronted by none other than Ken Stringfellow of The Posies.

The band plans to tour in North and South America this year, as well as Europe.

And what about a new Posies album?

"I am waiting for songs to emerge that are appropriate for the Posies, at which point we will work on another Posie opus," he says. "That's the intention."

Awesome.

Edited to add: Be sure to listen to "There's a Law" if you go to the MySpace page.

New Asobi Seksu Video, "Me and Mary"

(Via Brooklyn Vegan)

Margot & The Nuclear So and Sos, "As Tall As Cliffs"

File under: More Stuff I Missed During The Campaign

This one came out the day before the election, apparently. Love the song.

As Tall As Cliffs

Want To Play At Waterloo Records During SXSW?

I had no idea, but apparently Waterloo Records had an open booking system for the sets it hosts during SXSW.

So, if you're an artist and you're looking for a place to play in Austin during SXSW, check out Waterloo's rules and application here.

Waterloo's lineup during SXSW is usually a hodgepodge of high profile bands and lesser known bands. It's always a good excuse to head over and browse the aisles, though.

Recommended: Jason Isbell, Seven-Mile Island

So this is short enough to have probably just been a Twitter, but I wanted to give attention as due...

Jason Isbell's Seven-Mile Island, which comes out on February 17th, is hands down the best album I've heard so far in 2009, and I can't imagine a world where 10 better albums are going to come out this year.

Wow.

Pre-order an autographed copy of the album here.

Teenage Fanclub Recording!

I'll file this under Things Missed During The Campaign.

Teenage Fanclub's website has this entry dated August 19, 2008:

Work starts on a new album!

We begin work on our next album, our ninth, this coming Sunday 24th August. We have booked an initial three weeks at Leeders Farm recording studio in Norfolk and will be teaming up with our old friend Nick Brine, who will be engineering.

That just made my day.

Margot & The Nuclear So and So's No More?

Color me confused. I just noticed that Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos were scheduled to appear at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday, April 9th with Cloud Cult. Tickets apparently go on sale this Thursday at noon.

That's not the confusing part. Stay with me.

This got me wondering if the band might swing through DC or not (their 9:30 Club show last summer was, err, sparsely attended). So I checked their MySpace page for tour dates and that's when I saw this blog entry:

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

margot says, "goodbye for now" in Indianapolis

Margot will be going away for awhile (at least) to work on some other things. To say thank you to everyone from our town, we will be playing two VERY small shows in Indy. An all ages and a 21+. Links to buy tickets are in our "shows" section. Hope to see you there.

So, as I mentioned above, I am confused. Are they taking time off? Are they touring? Is this yet another example of an indie band being undone by a major label deal? Are they taking time off to recruit new bandmembers so that they can rival the Polyphonic Spree in size?

These questions - and many others - will be answered in the next episode of Soap.

DC and NYC Collide in Brooklyn This Weekend!

Wow, just saw the info on a great show going on up at Music Hall of Williamsburg this weekend.

For the low price of $12 (!) you get DC's Jukebox the Ghost plus NYC's Robbers on High Street, Lowry and, best of all IMO, Takka Takka.

The show is the release party for Guilt By Association Volume 2, an album of your favorite indie rock bands playing your favorite guilty-pleasure songs. You can stream the entire album here, including songs by all four bands mentioned above as well as Frightened Rabbit covering N-Trance and The Forms covering, err, "We Didn't Start The Fire".

Don't Call It A Comeback #2

Because it's just a one-off thing.

But don't let that keep you from getting excited about the fact that the recently-disbanded Julie Ocean is scheduled to open for From The Jam at the State Theatre on Sunday, March 29th.

The story as I understand it is that the J.O. boys were scheduled to open this show a few months ago before it got postponed, and were contacted about staying on the bill when it got re-scheduled for March. In the interim, singer/guitarist Jim Spellman had moved off to Denver so that he could receive daily tasings, and the band had broken up. But now they're back, for one show only, and to that I say... excellent.

Tickets are on sale now.

Mr. Brownstone

Holy crap is this awful.

I've never watched Celebrity Rehab, nor do I plan to. But I just saw this clip of former Guns n' Roses drummer Steven Adler, and it depresses the hell out of me.

Don't do drugs, kids.

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

New Future Clouds and Radar Video, "The Epcot View"

Don't Call It A Comeback

Because it's just an internet show, and it's just Bud Bundy. But it's pretty damn funny anyway.

Meet Star-ving, the new internet-only show starring David Faustino (Bud Bundy of Married With Children fame) and Corin Nemec (Parker Lewis of Parker Lewis Can't Lose, uh, "fame"). The show debuted last week, and a friend just turned me onto it yesterday.

There's 4 episodes so far, and here's my favorite (the 4th). They're all pretty entertaining, though, and between 5-7 minutes long, so I definitely recommend that you check it out.

Oh, and be forewarned, there are two major negatives. First, the show uses the same public-domain background music made famous in It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. I know music's expensive, but geez, guys, it's just too obvious. And, second, there's waaaay too much man ass. Waaaay too much.

This Week In DC

Here are the most interesting local DC shows going on this week, as determined by me.

Pickins are pretty slim, but these two shows should both be excellent.

Mon., 1/26
Velvet Lounge: Magic Christian, The Differents, The Fast Track

Wed., 1/28
Black Cat (backstage): Pree, Tereu Tereu, Sean Walsh and the National Reserve

Thorns Of Life

How in the world did I not know that Blake Schwarzenbach had a new band?!?!?!?

Now we just need an album. And a tour.

New-ish Birdmonster Video

Not sure how I missed this one. Great tune, cool vid.



Be sure to go vote for this video over at MTV2 in the next day or so.

Silver Jews Are No More

I'm sure this has been covered elsewhere, but I just saw it. David Berman is ending the Silver Jews.

Here's his post on the Drag City message board:

Hello, my friend.

Cassie and I went to the cave and it looks great. 58 degrees but the humidity makes it feel like 72.

I'm just going to play fifteen songs. My fifteen favorite ones.

A dollar per song. Plus Arnett Hollow. I don't

want to keep you underground for too long. Fall Creek Falls State Park State Lodge is great by the way.

Yes I cancelled the South American shows. I'll have to see the ABC Countries another way.

I guess I am moving over to another category. Screenwriting or Muckraking.

I've got to move on. Can't be like all the careerists doncha know.

I'm forty two and I know what to do.

I'm a writer, see?


Cassie is taking it the hardest. She's a fan and a player but she sees how happy i am with the decision.

I always said we would stop before we got bad. If I continue to record I might accidentally write the answer song to Shiny Happy People.

What, you thought I was going to hang on to the bitter end like Marybeth Hamilton?



love david

Crap.

Tereu Tereu Touring In Support of New Album

One of the DC-area bands that I discovered when I first moved down here a year ago was Fredericksburg's Tereu Tereu. The band released an excellent split EP with San Francisco's The Light Footwork (where'd they go?) last year, and has been hard at work ever since on their debut album.

Thankfully, that album, entitled All That Keeps Us Together, is now finished, and it's fantastic. Don't take my word for it - check out one of my favorite tracks:

Tereu Tereu, "Beyond The Coast"

You can also hear two other tracks from the album, "Perpetual Motion" and "Cheers", over at the band's MySpace page.

The band hits the road today for a week-long tour to celebrate the release of the album. If you're in any of the cities listed below, do yourself a favor and check these guys out. They put on as good of a show as any young band going right now, and you'll be able to say that you knew them "when".

So, Yeah, I Met Him

Edited to add: Full set of crappy iPhone pics here.

Cake We Can Believe In

This is all starting to get a little silly. I found this cake in my local supermarket in Northern Virginia. It was $20. I didn't buy it.

Bishop Allen Hitting Black Cat

So things will be quiet around here for the next few days, as I'm doing a bit of volunteer work with the Inaugural Committee. In fact, keep your eyes glued to the TV on Tuesday - I'm gonna be working up in the VIP area on the main presentation stand. I'll be a matter of yards away from Barack. Can't wait.

Anyway, before I disappear, I wanted to mention that Bishop Allen has announced a show at the Black Cat on Friday, March 13th. This will be part of the band's still to-be-announced full U.S. tour in March, and will be in conjunction with the band's still-untitled third LP.

Tickets go on sale this Friday (1/23) via Ticketmaster.

Edited to add: I had no idea that Justin was in a new movie called Let Them Chirp Awhile. Has anyone seen it?

New Bob Mould Album, Tour (Birchmere)

The legendary Bob Mould is set to release a brand new album, entitled Life and Times, via ANTI- Records on April 7th.

He's also scheduled a Spring tour, including a local DC-area show at the Birchmere (on sale NOW), and two nights in New York at Joe's Pub (!!).

Life and Times Tracklist
1. Life And Times
2. The Breach
3. City Lights (Days Go By)
4. MM 17
5. Argos
6. Bad Blood Better
7. Wasted World
8. Spiraling Down
9. I'm Sorry, Baby, But You Can't Stand In My Light Any More
10. Lifetime

Bob Mould Spring Tour Dates
02/28 - San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall (Noisepop Festival)
03/02 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Cafe
03/11 - New York, CA @ Carnegie Hall (R.E.M Tribute Show)
03/29 - Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk
03/30 - Minneapolis, IL @ Varsity Theatre
04/05 - Charlottesville, VA @ Gravity Lounge
04/07 - Alexandria, VA @ Birchmere
04/08 - New York, NY @ Joe’s Pub
04/09 - New York, NY @ Joe’s Pub

Replacements Reuniting At Coachella?

This is just about the only thing on Earth that would convince me to go sleep in a field with thousands of patchouli-smelling hippie-wannabes.

Is it true? Who knows. I kinda doubt it, given that Tommy is still in Guns n' Roses, who should supposedly be touring of their own this year. And we all know how much Axl likes the idea of Tommy doing anything with Paul.

New Neko Case "People Got A Lotta Nerve"

Neko Case, "People Got A Lotta Nerve" [free download]

Neko Case's new album, Middle Cyclone, is due out on March 3rd via ANTI- Records. This is the first track from the album, and it bodes very well for what we can expect from the LP.

Even cooler, Neko and ANTI- are donating $1 to the Best Friends Animal Society for every user of iLike who adds the song to their profile, as well as for every blog that posts the song for download. Check it out:



I wish I were that dog.

Check Out Mittenfields

So there's a new DC band that you should check out called Mittenfields.

The band has several songs, including three live performances, available on their MySpace page, and I can't seem to stop listening to the first track, "Look Both Ways". The band describes itself as "Ambient/Pop/Minimalist", but there's nothing minimalist about this tune. In fact, the tune reminds me a lot of the Pixies.

I don't know a whole lot about these guys yet, other than that Dave M. who does some show booking around DC plays bass for them. However, I plan to be at their show at Solly's next Friday, and I'll report back more then.

Upcoming Mittenfields Shows
Sun., 1/18: College Park, MD (3rd Rail Radio on WMUC)
Wed., 1/21: Vienna, VA (Jammin' Java, w/ The B-Film Extras, The Laughing Man)
Fri., 1/23: Washington, DC (Solly's, w/ The Caribbean)
Sat., 1/24: Baltimore, MD (Joe Squared, w/ Kadman)
Sat., 2/14: Durham, NC (The Pinhook)
Sat., 2/28: Washington, DC (Velvet Lounge, w/ Deleted Scenes, Batata Doce)
Fri., 4/3: Washington, DC (Velvet Lounge, w/ The House Floor)

Asobi Seksu Returns!

Asobi Seksu are finally due to release their third album, Hush, via Polyvinyl Records on February 17th. It's about freakin' time - it's been three years since Citrus came out.

As you can probably see from my What I'm Listening To section on the right, I've had the album for a few days. And... I still need some time to listen to it. It's not as immediate as Citrus, and some of the heavier shoegaziness seems to be gone. Also, Yuki's voice seems different this time out.

Here's the first track from the album:

Asobi Seksu, "Familiar Light"

You can also hear the significantly more rockin' "Me and Mary" at the Polyvinyl Records website.

You can pre-order the album for yourself from Polyvinyl Records for a reasonable $10.

Asobi Seksu Tourdates
Sun., 2/8: Southampton (The Talking Heads)
Mon., 2/9: London (Islington Academy)
Tue., 2/10: Manchester (Roadhouse)
Wed., 2/11: Dublin (Crawdaddy)
Fri., 2/13: Belfast (Speakeasy)
Sat., 2/14: Glasgow (ABC2)
Sun., 2/15: Newcastle (The Clurry)
Wed., 2/18: Birmingham (Barfly Dragon)
Thu., 2/19: London (ICA)
Fri., 2/20: Amsterdam (Paradiso)
Sun., 2/22: Brussels (Rotonde)
Tue., 2/24: Muenster (Gleiss 22)
Wed., 2/25: Berlin (Magnet)
Fri., 3/13: San Francisco (The Independent)
Sat., 3/14: Los Angeles (Troubadour)
Wed. 3/18 to Sat. 3/21: Austin (SXSW)
Sat., 3/28: Washington, DC (RnR Hotel) [rumored]
Thu., 4/2: New York (Bowery)

DC Show Update

My picks in bold. Updates throughout the week, if any, in italics.

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Sun., 1/25:  Dennis Kane, The Finish (backstage)

Wed., 2/4:  Brookville (Andy Chase of Ivy) (backstage)

Thu., 2/5:  The Andalusians, Played Tomorrow (backstage)

Tue., 2/10:  Andy Zipf, Kaiser Cartel (backstage)

Sun., 2/15:  Kevin Seconds, Vic Ruggiero (backstage)

Mon., 2/16:  The Dig (backstage)

Fri., 2/20:  No Second Troy, Olivia Mancini & The Terrible Two, Meredith Bragg (mainstage)

Wed., 2/25:  Gestures, Capillary Action, Cannot Be Stopped (backstage)

Tue., 3/3:  Hollywood, Sick Weapons, Stolen Minks (backstage)

Sat, 3/14: Travis Morrison Hellfighters, Poor But Sexy (backstage)

Thu., 4/9:  Tim Barry, Austin Lucas, Josh Small (backstage)

Black Cat tickets go on sale on Friday (1/16) at 5pm Eastern via Ticketmaster.

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Fri., 2/27:  George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Sam H

Sun., 3/1:  Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Deer Tick

Fri., 3/6:  Ani DiFranco

Sun., 3/8:  Lisa Hannigan, Low Anthem

Thu., 3/12:  BellX1

Sat., 3/14:  The Feelies

Sun., 3/22:  Bloc Party (on sale 1/17 at 10am)

Thu., 4/2:  Lady Gaga

Sat., 4/4:  Mates of State, Black Kids

Fri., 4/24:  The AP Tour

Unless otherwise noted, all 9:30 Club tickets go on sale Thursday (1/15) at 10am Eastern time via Tickets.com

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TBD.

Tickets for Rock and Roll Hotel shows are sold via Ticket Alternative.

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TBD.

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TBD.

Unless otherwise noted, tickets for all Velvet Lounge shows are sold at the door only.

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Sat., 3/14: Clem Snide [same night as Feelies - crap]

Unless otherwise noted, tickets for all Iota shows are sold at the door only.

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Fri., 3/6:  The Marshall Tucker Band

Sun., 3/29: From The Jam

Tickets for State Theatre shows are on sale now.

New Elvis Perkins, "Shampoo"

Elvis Perkins, "Shampoo"

Excellent new tune from Elvis' new album, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, due out on 3/10. Can't wait.

Oh, and you can hear two more tracks from the album at Elvis' website. (Be sure to check out the track "Doomsday", which is awesome.)

(Thx to The Futurist for the heads up!)

New Decemberists, "The Rake's Song"

The Decemberists, "The Rake's Song"

Here's the first track from The Decemberists forthcoming LP, The Hazards of Love, due out on March 24th via Capitol Records.

As someone who has been more and more disappointed with the past few albums, I gotta say that I'm pretty happy with this song. Mainly because it doesn't try too hard to be cute, which has been a real problem on the last couple of albums for me.

If you haven't been a fan of the band before now, you probably won't change your mind on the basis of this song. But I personally find myself pretty hopeful for the album, which is a pleasant surprise.

Jackie Chan To (re)Play Mr. Miyagi

Wow is this remake gonna suuuuuuuuuuck.

Jackie Chan < Noriyuki "Pat" Morita
Jaden Smith (Will's kid, who is 10, by the way) < Ralph Macchio

And there is no possible way to replace Billy Zabka. If the producers are smart, they'll cast Zabka as the "bad" sensei, even though the moving is supposedly based in Beijing.

Holy Rock Show

Just noticed over at the Black Cat website that Dead Confederate is opening for The Whigs on March 4th. I was already planning on going, but holy crap, man... what a friggin' rock show this is gonna be.

You need to go to this show.

New Wheat, "My Warning Song"

They're back!

Wheat has a new song called "My Warning Song" streaming over on its MySpace page. The song appears to be the first track off the band's forthcoming LP, White Ink Black Ink. There's a reference on the MySpace page to a 1/1/09 release date, but I don't think that happened.

Oh, and if you're in Boston or NYC, you're in luck -- the band has two live dates scheduled:

Jan. 24: Allston, MA (Great Scott)
Feb. 12: Brooklyn, NY (Union Hall)

So, umm, yeah. The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Mystery Jets and Wheat are all playing shows in New York over the next month, but not DC (or anywhere else, really). I really ought to just call my landlord and cancel my DC lease tomorrow, eh?

Not So New Mystery Jets Vid

Yet another example of the things I blanked on during the Presidential campaign. Apparently the Mystery Jets had a video for "Half In Love With Elizabeth". Well, here it is:

Gary Louris and Mark Olson Touring (Birchmere)

Not sure how I missed this until now. Gary Louris and Mark Olson, both formerly of The Jayhawks, have scheduled a month-long tour for next month in support of their new album, Ready For The Flood, which comes out on January 27th. The tour includes a DC stop at The Birchmere on February 10th, and a New York stop at friggin' Carnegie Hall. Wow.

If you pre-order Ready For The Flood from Newbury Comics, a limited number of people will get an autographed CD booklet.

Gary Louris and Mark Olson Tour Dates
Feb 03 The Ark Ann Arbor, MI
Feb 04 The Mod Club Toronto, ONT
Feb 06 Somerville Theater Somerville, MA
Feb 07 Carnegie Hall New York, NY
Feb 09 Sellersville Theater Sellersville, PA
Feb 10 Birchmere Alexandria, VA
Feb 11 The Arts Center Carrboro, NC
Feb 13 Eddie's Attic Atlanta, GA
Feb 14 Exit/In Nashville, TN
Feb 15 Phoenix Hill Tavern Louisville, KY
Feb 17 Blueberry Hill St. Louis, MO
Feb 18 Mojo's Columbia, MO
Feb 19 CSPS Cedar Rapids, IA
Feb 20 Park West Chicago, IL
Feb 21 Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN

Hold Steady Perform "Stay Positive" for Jools Holland

I believe this was from Jools Holland's New Year's special.

I ended up loving this album after some early jitters, but this performance is, umm, not compelling.

DC Show Update

Starting early this week.

My picks in bold. Updates throughout the week, if any, in italics.

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Sat., 2/7: Shortstack (mainstage)
Wed., 2/11: Lambchop (backstage)
Thu., 2/12: (The Sounds of) Kaleidoscope, The Tennis System (backstage)
Tue., 2/17: Turboslut, Pygmy Lush (backstage)
Thu., 2/19: The Points, Cloak/Dagger (backstage)
Tue., 2/24: Repeal CA Prop 8 Benefit w/ Trophy Wife, Equinox, Mirror Script (backstage)
Mon., 3/23: Human Highway, The Magic, Cotton Jones (backstage)
Thu., 3/26: Glasvegas (mainstage)

Black Cat tickets go on sale on Friday (1/9) at 5pm Eastern via Ticketmaster.

Oh, and Ted Leo has been added to the amazing Hideout Inauguration show on January 19th with Andrew Bird, Tortoise, The Waco Brothers, Eleventh Dream Day and other. That show's already on sale.

---

Sun., 1/18: Moby DJ Set / Inauguration Party
Fri., 1/23: Lionize, The Players
Fri., 1/30: Thievery Corporation
Sat., 2/1: Thievery Corporation
Thu., 2/19: Fujiya and Miyagi, School of Seven Bells
Sun., 3/1: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (no onsale info yet)
Mon., 3/2: Missy Higgins, Justin Nozuka
Tue., 3/3: Lucinda Williams
Fri., 3/6: Ani DiFranco (on sale 1/15)

Unless otherwise noted, all 9:30 Club tickets go on sale tomorrow (Thu., 1/8) at 10am Eastern time via Tickets.com

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Sat., 2/21: The Known Unknowns (CD Release)
Fri., 3/6: Blue King Brown (on sale 1/16)








Tickets for Rock and Roll Hotel shows are sold via Ticket Alternative. Looks like the Known Unknowns show maybe be sold at the door only, though.

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TBD.

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TBD.

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TBD.

Unless otherwise noted, tickets for all Iota shows are sold at the door only.

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Rural Alberta Advantage Coming to NYC!

The Rural Alberta Advantage, "Don't Haunt This Place"

So I guess this is reason #4,231 why I need to move back to NYC as soon as possible:

Canada's The Rural Alberta Advantage - who put out one of my favorite albums of 2008 (yeah, it would definitely be top 10 if I did the list today) - are finally playing their first U.S. show. Specifically, at Piano's in NYC on Tuesday, January 27th.

I can't put this strongly enough - if you're in New York, GO SEE THIS SHOW.

Or, if you're stuck in DC like me, keep your fingers crossed that they eventually come down here. (Or hopefully they'll at least be at SXSW.)

Oh, and go buy their album here.

Free Takka Takka Show This Weekend!

Great news for those of you in NYC this weekend -

Takka Takka is playing a FREE show at BAMcafe (30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn) this Saturday, January 10th at 9pm.

I'm still upset that I missed them (due to the Obama campagin) when they came through DC in the Fall.  I'm a big fan of their latest LP, Migration, and an even bigger fan of their live show.  So if you're in or around Brooklyn this weekend, be sure to check them out.

Album of the Week

So you may have noticed that I added a new "Album of the Week" widget to my sidebar a couple of weeks ago.

The excellent Lala.com has secured deals with a number of labels allowing free streaming of entire albums, and I figured it was a good idea to put the technology to good use by spotlighting albums and artists that I think deserve attention. Some of the albums will be new (the first album I spotlighted was the latest Henry Clay People album), and some will be older. It's all about what album I feel like pushing at any given time.

And right now I want to push The Exploding Hearts' Guitar Romantic. I somehow have gone at least a year without listening to this album. And that's a travesty. This is, hands down, one of my favorite albums of the decade. If you're a fan of garage-based punk (think early Clash or Undertones), you owe it to yourself to become one with this album. And if you're already familiar with it, well, you really ought to listen to it again anyway.

My Outfit for the Inauguration Ball

New Antlers Song, "Bear"

One of the releases that I'm most looking forward to this year is The Antlers' Hospice, the followup to 2007's incredible In the Attic of the Universe.

The band released the first single from the album, entitled "Two", a couple of months ago (listen to it here), and today released the second track, "Bear". Take a listen:

The Antlers, "Bear"

If there was any question whether the band could craft a worthy followup to Attic, or whether it would survive expanding from a one-man project to a real band, these two songs should provide a solidly affirmative answer.

Hospice is being self-released by the band on March 3rd through a limited edition CD and online download. It's not soon enough. I asked this a couple of years ago, but how early is too early to declare an album a likely album of the year?

Hospice Tracklist
1. Prologue
2. Kettering
3. Sylvia
4. Atrophy
5. Bear
6. Thirteen
7. Two
8. Shiva
9. Wake
10. Epilogue

Hear (and download) more over at the band's website.

R.I.P. Ron Asheton of the Stooges

Crap. Ron Asheton of The Stooges has reportedly passed away at the age of 60. I'll post more info and links when I have them.

Edited to add: Here's a collection of articles, opinions, etc. on Ron Asheton's passing. I can't say much that hasn't already been said, but I thank Ron for the music he gave us and am glad that he and the band have gotten some of the recognition they deserve in recent years.

Ann Arbor News
Billboard
Brooklyn Ski Club
Fighting the Youth
My Old Kentucky Blog
NME (with Asheton's 5 greatest riffs)
Rolling Stone

Feelies Coming to DC! (And Philly!)

Thanks to a post over at the 9:30 Club message boards, I was able to track down a post over at Ground Control Touring confirming that the reunited Feelies will be playing some additional East Coast dates this Spring, including a show here at the 9:30 Club.

I have no idea if this is part of a wider tour or not, but I can guarantee you I'll be at at least one of these shows.

Feelies Spring Tour
Wed., 3/11: New York (Carnegie Hall - REM Tribute)
Fri., 3/13: Philadelphia (Johnny Brenda's)
Sat., 3/14: Washington, DC (9:30 Club)

BTW, I had no idea about that REM Tribute in New York. It features Throwing Muses, Glenn Hansard, The Apples in stereo, The dB's, Bob Mould, Patti Smith, Jolie Holland, Rhett Miller, Calexico and, err, Darius Rucker. Why did I move out of New York again?

Clem Snide Returns!

Wow, I had no idea this was happening. Apparently Clem Snide is about to release a brand new album entitled Hungry Bird on February 24th via 429 Records.

If you don't know them, Clem Snide was an alt-country/Americana band from New York (and Nashville) which was active for the better part of the 1990's through 2006. Technically, "band" isn't the right word -- Clem Snide was the name that lead singer and songwriter Eef Barzelay used with a rotating cast of supporting musicians. After Clem Snide "disbanded" in 2006, Eef started a "solo" career which saw him release two excellent solo albums, Bitter Honey and Lose Big, as well as several songs on the soundtrack to the indie movie Rocket Science.

Anyway, I'm a fan of pretty much everything Eef has done, and I'm thrilled to be getting new music, regardless of whose name it's under.

Oh, and here's the first track from the album:

Clem Snide, "Me No"

You can also hear two other new songs, "Hum" and "The Endless Endings", over at the band's MySpace page.

(Thanks to You Ain't No Picasso for the heads up!)

Update: Dead Tickets

Just a quick followup to my post last week about the upcoming Dead reunion tour. According to the band's website, a pre-sale will start next Tuesday, 1/13, and general ticketing will start on Friday, 1/23.

New Jason Isbell Album, Tour

Just noticed this - Jason Isbell, formerly of The Drive-By Truckers, is set to release his second solo album (and first with his band, The 400 Unit), entitled Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, on February 17th via Nashville-based Lightning Rod Records.

The first track from the album, "Seven Mile Island", is currently streaming on the band's MySpace page.

The band will be supporting the album with a two-month tour starting in Birmingham and ending in Austin at SXSW. Full dates are below, but I'm particularly excited about the 2/26 show at Bowery Ballroom and the 3/1 show at the 9:30 Club.

Jason Isbell Tour Dates
Thu-Feb-12 Birmingham, AL Workplay
Sat-Feb-14 Florence, AL Shoals Theater
Tue-Feb-17 Athens, GA Georgia Theatre
Wed-Feb-18 Atlanta, GA The Earl
Fri-Feb-20 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
Sat-Feb-21 Richmond, VA The National
Sun-Feb-22 Harrisonburg, VA The Pub
Tue-Feb-24 Boston, MA TT the Bears
Thu-Feb-26 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
Fri-Feb-27 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live
Sat-Feb-28 Pittsburgh, PA Club Cafe
Sun-Mar-01 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Mon-Mar-02 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
Wed-Mar-04 Toronto, ONT Horseshoe Tavern
Thu-Mar-05 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place
Fri-Mar-06 Columbus, OH The Rumba Café
Sat-Mar-07 Cincinnati, OH Southgate House
Sun-Mar-08 Asheville, NC Orange Peel
Fri-Mar-13 Louisville, KY Headliner's
Sat-Mar-14 Nashville, TN The Mercy Lounge
Mar 18 - 22 Austin, TX SXSW

New(ish) Future Clouds and Radar Video, "Feet on Grass"

You'll notice that Future Clouds and Radar's second album, Peoria, wasn't anywhere in my Best of 2008 lists - neither as a "best" or a "disappointment".

That's because, two months after its release, I'm still really trying to digest it. It's a very different album than the band's debut, which is easily one of my favorite albums of the decade. It has some strong moments and some not-so-strong ones.

"Feet On Grass" is one of it's stronger moments.

Checking In With Bob Pollard

It's been a few months since we heard anything from Bob Pollard (to wit, the strong Boston Spaceships LP), and it occurred to me that we should probably be expecting something new from him before too long. So imagine my surprise when I went over to Bob's website and discovered that he has three brand new releases.

The first is a Boston Spaceships 7" called Headache Revolution with 3 brand new tracks which came out last week.

The second is a brand new Bob solo disc called The Crawling Distance which comes out on Tuesday, January 20th (Inauguration Day!). Here's how Rockathon describes the new album:

From the stately Kraut-rock chug of the album opener, "Faking My Harlequin", to the schizo-frenetic closing track "Too Much Fun," with structural u-turns piled on top of tempo shifts, The Crawling Distance is unlike any Pollard album you've heard before. With 10 tracks, most clocking in at 3 and 4+ minutes, highlights include the gorgeous "It's Easy", a rare Pollard ballad (albeit a ballad with creepy oddball imagery) and "The Butler Stands For All Of Us", a subtle, melancholy song that ranks among Pollard's best ever.

And here's the first track from the album, called "Imaginary Queen Anne".

Both releases can be purchased, as always, via Rockathon Records.

Oh, and if that weren't enough, Boston Spaceships (which features Bob, Chris Slusarenko and John Moen) is releasing its second LP, The Planets Are Blasted, on February 17th. The album features guest spots by Greg Demos of Guided by Voices (!!!), Gary Jarman of the Cribs, and Chris Funk of the Decemberists. Can't wait.

Sunday Evening Listening

So I've had my iTunes on shuffle a bit here today and came across Sufjan Stevens' version of Dylan's "Ring Them Bells". I have no idea how the song got onto my computer, as I'm fairly certain I've never heard it before and had no idea it existed. I'm not a Sufjan fan, so I really don't know where it came from.

That said, it's a pretty spectacular version of an already great tune. Check it out, and then compare to Bob's original below.

Warning: Metal Ahead

So my current infatuation with Chinese Democracy has had an unintended consequence... I'm starting to get back into metal.

I'm not sure how serious this is, but I did pick up the latest Torche album (which is pretty awesome, BTW), and am currently listening to Master of Puppets for the first time in about a decade. And, I'll be damned, this thing kicks as much ass in 2008 as it did in 1986.

As a result, I've got a sneaking suspicion that Steve's about to embark on a metal thing. We'll see how long it lasts. I suppose it depends on whether Mastodon, The Sword, and all of the other new metal bands are really as good as people say they are.

Here's a song that I'd forgotten, but which just reawakened me to the majesty that was Metallica:

Zombies Coming To The Birchmere

Just saw over at Rock Insider that The Zombies have announced another reunion tour for this Summer, including a July 11th date at Irving Plaza in NYC and a July 15th date at the Birchmere in Northern Virginia.

I've missed the band the last few times they've come around, and plan to remedy that this year.

DC Show Update

Awful week.  I need a new town.

My picks in bold. Updates throughout the week, if any, in italics.

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Mon., 1/12: The Breakups (backstage)
Wed., 3/4: The Whigs (mainstage)



Black Cat tickets go on sale on Friday (1/2) at 5pm Eastern via Ticketmaster.

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No new shows this week.

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No new shows this week.

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No new shows this week.

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No new shows this week.

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Tue., 2/24: Pomegranates
Fri., 2/27: Marah

Unless otherwise noted, tickets for all Iota shows are sold at the door only.

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Dead Touring This Spring, Hitting DC

Looks like I've got one more thing to thank Barack Obama for... The Dead are reuniting for a 19-night tour this Spring, with stops here in DC, New York, Chicago and elsewhere.

If you'll recall, the band reunited for two Obama benefit shows last Fall. This, however, will be their first full tour in five years.

No exact word as to on-sale dates yet, but there will supposedly be a pre-sale over at Dead.net, and Billboard says the first set of on-sales should be around January 13th.

Dead Spring Tour Dates
April 12: Greensboro, N.C. (Coliseum)
April 14: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center)
April 15: Charlottesville, Va. (John Paul Jones Arena)
April 17: Albany, N.Y. (Times Union Center)
April 18-19: Worcester, Mass. (DCU Center)
April 21: Buffalo, N.Y. (HSBC Arena)
April 22: Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Wachovia Arena)
April 24: Uniondale, N.Y. (Nassau Coliseum)
April 25: New York (Madison Square Garden)
April 26: Hartford, Conn. (XL Center)
April 28-29: East Rutherford, N.J. (Izod Center)
May 1-2: Philadelphia (Wachovia Spectrum)
May 5: Chicago (Allstate Arena)
May 7: Denver (Pepsi Center)
May 9: Los Angeles (Forum)
May 10: Mountain View, Calif. (Shoreline Amphitheatre)

(via Billboard)